Every student had a sheet of long blue paper on their desk. This was the day we had discussed with our guidance counselors for months. After this day, the rest of your high school career would have a specific path. You had two options, you could chose to take grade level courses or you could take on the IB Diploma. All the upperclassman would warn us to steer clear of the diploma. It was known that if you made this decision, you would say goodbye to your sleep, social life, and mental well being. Yet despite all the warnings, I still had my teachers sign that blue piece of paper. Their signature meant that I would now take on the most challenging high school course load that there was to offer. Although the program was exhausting, I did take away many valuable lessons. I learned time management and how to connect my learning to the larger world around me. I have carried these skills to college and believe that they have me me a better student.
The IB diploma is an international education program that started in Wales. Students who challenge this program are to take all advance courses that last for two years. An IB student can't just be gifted in one subject but has to be well rounded. Similar to AP classes, IB holds exams for college credit but in May of Senior year. However, IB doesn't base your college credit solely on one exam. There are series of assessments prior to taking the exam. For example, in english there are oral commentaries, history required a large research paper, and in math you would create a portfolio. All of these tasks on top of regular school work can be extremely overwhelming. Choosing to take on this rigorous program, I had to acquire successful time management.
I feel that being an IB student has given me better skills in time management. As a high school student, I had become extremely organized in order to stay on top of my course work. I've brought this skill with me to college. I carefully and clearly write out all of my due dates and set goals for what I want to accomplish each day. This enables me to not become overwhelmed by all of my assignments. In a way, i feel that being an IB student in High School has given me an advantage over many of my classmates. I understand how balance all my papers, tests and other assignments. I have a lot less work in college than I did in high school, which may seem backwards, but I appreciate that I have more time because I can use my extra time to dive deeper into my learning.
The unique thing about IB classes was that many of them involved thinking about topics a lot deeper than I would have originally anticipated. I had taken some AP course in 10th grade, and found that they were all very detail based. To do well in my AP classes, I had to memorize many small details that I would quickly forget after the test. However, my IB classes would focus on less topics but in greater detail. I found that this enabled me to really understand topics in school and I feel like the information I have learned will stay with me for years. Another unique aspect of these classes was that the subjects would tie together. For example, while we were reading Brave New World in english, which focused the dangers of technology, we would also be learning about technology in spanish, and examining the industrial revolution in History. Although this connected curriculum isn't found in college, it has enabled me to think more about how my course work relates to the greater world around me.
My teachers that taught my IB classes were very passionate about their job. My high school purposely gave the better teachers positions teaching these classes. If I had decided not take this classes, I would have missed out on these incredible instructors. All of my IB teachers went out of their way to offer extra help and extra resources. Although unfortunately, students in the lower levels didn't get this benefit, I felt that having these teachers enabled me to be better prepared for college.
As a student at URI, I have been able to balance my school work with ease. I owe this to the IB program at my high school. I do wish I had more free time in high school for socializing and relaxation. However, I am glad that I now understand how to be a successful student in college. I am able to successfully manage my time and
The IB diploma is an international education program that started in Wales. Students who challenge this program are to take all advance courses that last for two years. An IB student can't just be gifted in one subject but has to be well rounded. Similar to AP classes, IB holds exams for college credit but in May of Senior year. However, IB doesn't base your college credit solely on one exam. There are series of assessments prior to taking the exam. For example, in english there are oral commentaries, history required a large research paper, and in math you would create a portfolio. All of these tasks on top of regular school work can be extremely overwhelming. Choosing to take on this rigorous program, I had to acquire successful time management.
I feel that being an IB student has given me better skills in time management. As a high school student, I had become extremely organized in order to stay on top of my course work. I've brought this skill with me to college. I carefully and clearly write out all of my due dates and set goals for what I want to accomplish each day. This enables me to not become overwhelmed by all of my assignments. In a way, i feel that being an IB student in High School has given me an advantage over many of my classmates. I understand how balance all my papers, tests and other assignments. I have a lot less work in college than I did in high school, which may seem backwards, but I appreciate that I have more time because I can use my extra time to dive deeper into my learning.
The unique thing about IB classes was that many of them involved thinking about topics a lot deeper than I would have originally anticipated. I had taken some AP course in 10th grade, and found that they were all very detail based. To do well in my AP classes, I had to memorize many small details that I would quickly forget after the test. However, my IB classes would focus on less topics but in greater detail. I found that this enabled me to really understand topics in school and I feel like the information I have learned will stay with me for years. Another unique aspect of these classes was that the subjects would tie together. For example, while we were reading Brave New World in english, which focused the dangers of technology, we would also be learning about technology in spanish, and examining the industrial revolution in History. Although this connected curriculum isn't found in college, it has enabled me to think more about how my course work relates to the greater world around me.
My teachers that taught my IB classes were very passionate about their job. My high school purposely gave the better teachers positions teaching these classes. If I had decided not take this classes, I would have missed out on these incredible instructors. All of my IB teachers went out of their way to offer extra help and extra resources. Although unfortunately, students in the lower levels didn't get this benefit, I felt that having these teachers enabled me to be better prepared for college.
As a student at URI, I have been able to balance my school work with ease. I owe this to the IB program at my high school. I do wish I had more free time in high school for socializing and relaxation. However, I am glad that I now understand how to be a successful student in college. I am able to successfully manage my time and